Japan's Kiyotake to join Nuremberg

17 May 2012 08:16

Japan midfielder Hiroshi Kiyotake, a member of the country's under-23 squad for the London Olympics, will join German side Nuremberg on July 1, his J-League club Cerezo Osaka said Thursday.

The 22-year-old has scored 17 goals in 92 J-League matches. He joined Oita Trinita in 2008, moving to Cerezo Osaka in 2010.

His transfer fee to the Bundesliga side is estimated at about one million euros ($1.3 million) and he has signed a three-year contract.

Kiyotake has played in five games without scoring a goal for Japan's senior side. He is also a member of the Olympic squad seeking the country's first football medal since they won bronze at the 1968 Mexico City Games.

Japanese players in Germany's professional leagues include Borussia Dortmund star Shinji Kagawa, who appears set to move to England, Stuttgart striker Shinji Okazaki and Wolfsburg midfielder Makoto Hasebe.